EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — For Super Bowl starters, the Broncos suffered from a horrific case of stage fright. Jitters turned to panic. Panic leaked to disaster. Disaster became humiliation. On the biggest stage in America, before more than 100 million television viewers Sunday, in arguably the greatest live event in the world, the Broncos imploded. They were destroyed by the younger, more energized, rougher, tougher Seattle Seahawks 43-8 in Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium.

Before a mostly Seahawks-rooting crowd of 82,529, the Broncos fell behind 36-0 before setting a couple of garbage records.

Demaryius Thomas set a Super Bowl record with 13 catches. Big deal. He also fumbled the ball away. Peyton Manning had a Super Bowl-record 34 completions. No one cared. He also threw two interceptions — one that was returned for a touchdown — lost a fumble and had a snap go over his head for a tone-setting safety on the game's first play.

How embarrassing.

"Yeah, it was embarrassing," wide receiver Thomas said. "It was the Super Bowl, and we didn't show up. As a group, we didn't show up."

This game was supposed to crown Manning's legacy, capping the greatest individual performance by a quarterback in NFL history. It was supposed to give John Elway an unprecedented Super Bowl double of quarterback champion/title-winning front-office architect.

Instead, to Denver fans, this Super Bowl resembled Super Bowl disasters of long ago, when Elway, the AFC star, had no chance as his Broncos were drubbed by the NFC's New York Giants, Washington Redskins and San Francisco 49ers.

"I'm disappointed for our entire team," Manning said. "We worked hard to get to this point. Overcame a lot of obstacles. Put in a lot of hard work just to have this opportunity. But to finish this way, it certainly is disappointing. It's a bitter pill to swallow."

In what was not the coldest-weather Super Bowl (49 degrees at kickoff), things went poorly from the coin toss. Win or lose the toss, the Broncos prefer kicking off and taking the ball first in the second half. They had received the ball first only three previous times this season and were 1-2.

Make that 1-3. Seattle won the toss and deferred.

The audacity of these Seahawks. The 2013 Broncos were the highest-scoring offense in NFL history, averaging 37.9 points per game. Manning broke all the significant single-season passing records.

Go ahead, Peyton. Take the ball first. Dare ya.

The Broncos became unglued. After a weak kickoff return by Trindon Holliday to the 14-yard line, Manning on his first play took a step forward to his left from his shotgun position as if he were going to audible into another play.

Crowd noise was an issue. This was a neutral crowd?

The Broncos were supposed to snap on Manning's shouted cadence, but no one up front heard him. As Manning stepped up, center Manny Ramirez heaved the snap past Manning.

"I thought I heard him," Ramirez said.

Running back Knowshon Moreno scrambled to recover the ball just before falling out of the end zone. Seattle had a gimme safety for a 2-0 lead 12 seconds into the game — the quickest score in a Super Bowl.

"It was nobody's fault, not Manny's fault," Manning said. "It was just a noise issue that caused that play to happen."

Denver's defense actually played well in the first half, especially with its front seven getting the better of the Seahawks' offensive line. Yet Denver was down 8-0 after the first quarter and 22-0 at halftime.

"We didn't create any turnovers; they did," said Broncos defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio. "I thought there were a couple sloppy saves, but the tackling wasn't what you need to have."

Late in the first quarter, Manning was trying to pick up the Broncos' initial first down when he overthrew a seam route intended for tight end Julius Thomas. The pass floated into the stomach of safety Kam Chancellor, an interception that set up a short field for Seattle's offense. Marshawn Lynch finished off a 37-yard drive by ramming in on his second try from near the goal line for a 15-0 lead.

Finally, on their next drive, the Broncos were moving. But a tripping penalty on offensive guard Zane Beadles and a poorly executed screen backed the Broncos up. On third-and-13, the Seahawks brought heat with their front four. Seattle left defensive end Cliff Avril blew past right tackle Orlando Franklin and hit Manning in the arm as he was attempting to throw. The batted ball hung in the air. Seahawks linebacker Malcolm Smith — who was named the game's MVP — made a break on the ball, corralled it and returned it 69 yards for a touchdown.

Now, faith was shaken.

The Broncos were down 22-0. And they were desperate.

On their next possession, the Broncos had fourth-and-2 on the Seahawks 19 with 1 minute, 6 seconds left in the half. Kick the field goal, go into the halftime locker room down 22-3, settle down, and see what happens in the second half.

Instead, Broncos coach John Fox went for it. Considering Manning needed only 2 yards, he held the ball for a long time. He threw to the wide side of the field. The ball was deflected by Chris Clemons and fell well short.

"I didn't think three points would make a big difference," Fox said. "And it turned out to be true."

After a long halftime intermission and stirring performance by singer-entertainer Bruno Mars, the Broncos' Matt Prater kicked off. Percy Harvin, Seattle's oft-injured hired gun who was essentially paid $14.5 million in signing bonus and salary this season for his appearance in the Super Bowl, returned it 87 yards for a touchdown.

Game over, 29-0.

In the end, maybe an unimaginable list of injuries was too much for the Broncos to overcome. Were they really going to win it all without all-pro left offensive tackle Ryan Clady, star pass rusher Von Miller and key starters Kevin Vickerson, Rahim Moore, Derek Wolfe and Chris Harris?

Or maybe the Broncos must face the reality that pass-happy, offense-oriented teams don't win it all. Manning was the fourth quarterback to lead the NFL in both passing yards and touchdowns and reach the Super Bowl in the same season. All four — Dan Marino (1984), Kurt Warner (2001), Tom Brady (2007) and Manning (2013) — lost their Super Bowls. By a combined 118-54 score.

These Broncos are also among the top nine scoring teams in NFL history. Not one of those nine won it all.

In the end, defense rules.

Manning did not finish with the greatest quarterback season in NFL history. The Broncos and owner Pat Bowlen did not win their third Lombardi Trophy.

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